January 2012

Bugsy got a day off today, because Smokey did the hay delivery. In the absence of a klibber, I used his driving saddle and hooked the haynets over the rein terrets. It worked fine, except he's obviously lost weight and the girth was a wee bit slack, even in the tightest hole on both sides. It's webbing, so I'll make two new holes tomorrow.

He was very good - we had a bit of a trial run on Wednesday. He got his saddle on then I threw haynets round his legs and over his back, before hanging them on the saddle and moving him around a bit. He sometimes reaches back for a mouthful of hay - it's like a picnic.

If it wasn't dark at 4.30pm, you'd have thought it was May here today. I was working in a T-shirt and fleece gilet (and jeans, of course). It wasn't sunny but it was so mild.

Dan and John have been cracking on with the January jobs list . Yesterday, they put up the new pedestrian gate at the North entrance to Dalmore, replacing the old pallet. When we moved here, there was no gate, just a metal barrier - fine for horses and stopping your tractor being stolen but no good for stopping dogs or sheep. Or probably Bugsy.

The scanner was here at 6.35am today - she's visiting eight holdings and doing 600 sheep today What a star, Gillian at www.booscan.co.uk.

All nine are in lamb. Of the three gimmers, Niamh and Nova have singles and Nellie has twins. Of the six ewes, Luna, Lucy and Juno have twins and Jura, Jinx and Lyra have singles. I'm a wee bit disappointed with Jura and Lyra, who both had twins last year. Jinx has had three single tup lambs previously and I expect the same this year.

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Who is the Accidental Smallholder?

Hello, I'm Rosemary Champion, aka the Accidental Smallholder. I'm a smallholder in the east of Scotland and started this website to help other people who are interested in smallholding to find their way, and to share my experiences.